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Interesting. “He won?”
“The good guys won the day. Jasper got knocked around in the process, but all's good now.” Wiggling his eyebrows, Liam grinned. “Enough of the doom and gloom. You've been here a few times and not played with any of our lovely members. Looking for anyone in particular or just getting the lay of the land?”
Thane glanced around at the almost empty club. He'd made sure to come early again, hoping to catch his woman before she was stolen away. It wouldn't take long for more people to file through the doors, and the odds were he'd miss his chance if he wasn't careful. “Just getting to know faces and names, but there is one woman who appeals.”
“Yeah? If she comes in, point her out. I can introduce you if you're worried you’ll step on toes.”
He tried to imagine stomping all over the massive feet of Atticus, and decided that would be really bad for his health. He liked his head precisely where it was, at the correct angle and still attached to his neck. “Thanks, but I think she might be taken.”
“Well, hell. That sucks.” Liam glanced over as a group of females entered the room, then lifted his hand in acknowledgement as several women gave him little finger waggles as a hello. “The beauty of Avalon is that we have a wide range of submissives looking for a partner to play with. No one's going to give you a black eye if you talk to a sub who's taken, so long as you're polite and back off when asked.”
“Good to know.” Thane's eyes locked onto a curvy woman parting company from the group of subs, his cock and his hopes rising quickly as she strode over to the bar. “Very good to know.”
The Domme wore a low-cut black corset that pushed her breasts into plump mounds lifting above the delicate red lace trim. It highlighted the curve of her ribcage and waist while tight leather pants accentuated the lushness of her hips and thighs. He was certain she'd lost weight since the last time he'd seen her, which made him wonder if it was deliberate or something out of her control. Her boots came to just below her knees, the heels a good six inches.
She was dressed to kill, he thought in appreciation. Who was in her crosshairs?
Her doe-hide hair was loose, tumbling over her shoulders in subtle waves. While Thane didn't know much about makeup, one look at her shadowed eyes and crimson-slicked mouth told him she'd donned war paint. He caught a whiff of something deliciously smoky that kicked his cock straight to aching point as she stepped up to the bar beside him.
He wanted her. Badly. Now. Ten minutes ago.
“Connie, darling, you look like you're about to mount a horse and ride into battle.” Liam gave her a once-over that was part approval and part resignation.
She snorted. “In these pants? No, thanks.”
Although Liam's mouth twitched, he gave her a somber look. “Your meeting is about to commence,” he told her pointedly. “I've been asked to inform you not to be late. I'm not sure you're wearing the appropriate meeting attire.”
Thane watched with avid curiosity as her back straightened as though Liam had shoved a steel rod up her ass. Her temper flickered to life beneath that permanent cloak of fatigue, but she kept it tightly reined in. For now. He imagined she was a goddess come to life when she let loose.
“No meetings tonight, Liam,” she replied easily, sliding her eyes toward Thane. “Just an incredibly large glass of white wine, if you please. Goldfish bowl size. I've had a really bad fucking week,” she snapped when the bartender folded his arms across his chest. “Don't make it worse by making me hurt one of the few people in my life I actually still like. Barely, after the stunt you pulled last week.”
“The meeting is important, Con. I can't let you blow it off and get drunk.” Liam's voice carried a wealth of apology.
“Well, fuck off and go serve someone else then. Go,” she repeated with what was almost a snarl, then turned her back to the bar and sighed as though her heart had just fallen onto the floor with a splat. And not in a good way.
“Goddamn it, Connie, don't put me in the middle of this.”
“You put yourself there,” she shot back angrily without looking at Liam. “You and the other jackasses, deciding things you have no right to interfere with. Just fuck off and leave me alone.”
Thane's heart ached at the expression on Liam's face. He'd seen kids who'd had their puppies kicked who weren't as devastated as the blond Master. Liam opened his mouth to speak, then tightened his lips and walked away, leaving Thane sitting next to a tangled, twisted riot of emotions contained in a lovely female package.
For a long minute, he let the silence vibrate uncomfortably, then asked, “Are you okay?”
Gray eyes roiling with violence landed on him, and it was a relief to see her try and calm herself before she spoke. That tongue of hers carried quite the sharp edge, and he'd rather not bleed tonight. “I'll be fine, thanks.”
“Are you sure? This is a lot of upset for the sake of one little meeting.”
Her lip curled. “The meeting isn't the problem, or not all of it. It's the manner in which it's been set up.” She closed her eyes and breathed deep. “Doesn't matter now anyway. I won't be attending, so they'll just have to deal with it. I'm sorry, you haven't come here to watch the drama unfold. I'll get out of your way. Have a good night.”
“Wait!” Thane lifted his hand as she pushed away from the bar. If this was his chance to get his foot through the door of, at the very least, a speaking relationship, he wasn't throwing away the opportunity. He offered his hand when she paused. “Thane Isaacson. I'm sort of new here. If you have a few minutes to spare, it would be nice to get to know another member. I don't have much in the way of the friend department just yet.”
Suspiciously, she reached out and shook his hand. Slim, strong fingers with neatly trimmed nails daubed in clear polish, he noted. It had been an excellent manicure at one stage, but there were little signs telling him that beauty enhancement had been left to lapse for a while. “Connie Monroe. Are you new to Phoenix, or have you just stumbled across our tiny patch of kink heaven?”
“A mixture of both. I've just gotten the last of my furniture from Chicago, so I guess I'm technically all moved in now. I’ve sampled a couple of clubs, but Avalon…well, let's just say Avalon ticked all my boxes for what I'm looking for in a BDSM club.” He enjoyed the tingle in his hand where their palms pressed together.
Connie took hers back. “That's fantastic news. Braun, the owner, created the club with friendliness and enjoyment in mind. I know some of the city-based clubs don't have what Avalon offers in terms of bringing their members together as a community.” Her gaze slid to Liam as he came toward them, his face grim. “Even when we're on the verge of kicking each other's asses.”
A small square of paper slapped down on the wood, then Liam slid it over to Connie with a fingertip.
